Neutron well logging



y 1950 R. E. FEARON ET AL 2,515,501

NEUTRON WELL LOGGING Filed June 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. fi/LBA'ET Jw/FT,

y Kmart? 540 4 Jen/hf 77 4/64? July 18, 1950 R. E. FEARON ET AL NEUTRON WELL LOGGING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jpne 29, 1948 4% I W5 LL lllbllll Patented July 18, 1950 ,Swift; Tulsa; Okla assignors to Well Suryeys, Incorporated,Tulsa, kla., a corporation of Delaware Application June 2. 1 emi v Sfe-j:3518M F1 i ven i n e ates t e a e subs r ee p o ation, pr c p ll p l w l leasing, and mor pa i ularly toa a ioa tivity type rexpler ie in which a source of rast neutronsisusedinicon- J' net en wi h a gammana vd te tn o i ne eially such a adioactiv ty .l emad b the us o a sou e o wfast neu ron and a, g mm -r d etoris nownas aneu on lee. Th syist ue despit t e. fac h t e neutrons a e ctly; etected.

n. r c n rea -neut on ei wel :les ha aehieveda de e efpq nla' i y n shared bv' h e s made by. ot e m thods Ibi .ii L eli re to ,be ttr butab ot eiae lt la gin a su sta t a propo tion .of su vey .me l the corr a a ur elv wi th .l thelee o t e ra a penetra d y t e 'w l The e les h ve. been made b t r g t e el w th our e e neut o k s l y 3 t 500mil1 enriespi r dium, ,im tima e y nfi d r with a nr demin nit rr rmtie by We ht orpowderedbery11ium, to irradiate with st neu rons the st a a lininah =wel and imu a eous y a er e the we wi h a asse et d garmnarray ldetector to detect and record gamma rays incorrelation with the depth at which they are detected. The detector, tor example anion-- ization chamber, and the source are assembled to makea single unit, withthe detector verti- Cal y spac d ,from he. sou c By extensive experimentation we have diseoveredthat the neutronlog does not in many important instances adequately depict thelithologic properties of the strata surveyed. We have carefully investigated and correlated numerous instances of this lzind and, as a result of exhaustive study and experimentation, we believe that we have now found the solution" to this problem and have discovered how to make adequate neutron logs of oi1wel1 s, and analogous subsurface passages, in virtually all instances.

We have found that the desired effect originat ing indifferent subsurface formations can be selectively augmented, and, thatthis can beaccornplished by regulating the distance between the neutron sourceandthe detector. I That is, if we are seeking to locate a certain ,type or underground strata,,we have discovered how to emphasize on the neutronlog the presence of that particular strata. This distance above mentioned is critical, and fromthepoint of View of useful gamma radiation produced by neutr on reactions inv the strata, we nareiou dth t va i it the. number, of neutrons emit d l y e sourc p un t o time. and t e avera e. r g .of the neutrons in the.iorn ations adjacentthe well. The; rang re neutrqmsv intierma ions depends .on

fliaolaim. (01. 250-8316) the ithe ee ee propertie o the e ti F ename vd .ti rInflati eueh as dry eee n he ene e ,neet ene h r i would be e eater hen tnexren e o n ntrens n e l n tion, as ,a wet shale. jlhe range of neutrens n a v inieetene. would lienet ee th ran e or e-1. t ens inLdry ,ee end-i w s ale. We have discovered that the intensity of detected ea n arediatlenirem part cu a form n is e. m whenitl e .enae e e the neu r ur from. 'tn ideieetor. i r th ,er e ef b ne re ter than t e neutr n Ireneein tha rmetien. ,I wish teemnhesi f he tran i s i melee de r e variance n Pe t euler type of ermeilen. we e ersnae n b tw en t e source aneth eetee e h t se tneerder of, tne ter 'tnent e ran o n u ron i tha pa Aer fermet en. emthe eeelesie m e of thesub er eeestrat n we ul r r e j ant c pat het qrmatiene er.lik yi be e countered in the well and ean select a spacing between neutron source and detector which will be ne'stfeverebl the tne ifie tent eti n be w h part cula etratai whie we a e i tere t Generally speaking, if we desire to differentiate betwe n et and ve We .ier ne e a re t v sm l s ec es wou d h u ed be ee t e iensen eeen eteetqr- 911F116 ot e han w des re ind er nt. te b tween e dry t nn tion'; seen s eealremla nee erae e te ene ineweel he n d. Tekinefllese ,iee e in ce der tie l wehevefennd thetin ,QIQBI. e nke a sin le loser. a we l .wh e portray-Wile m x um n lineme ,e eetisiaeter e eeine be t neutro seemeenddfleetet ee nsua be s ect d .whi s a eem remise 'ie al ,I maPi of int eetithe isexneete zt en qent r' n the sir llli e- Then ima v object. e rt i inve ti n i th nrevie ene m hod/end epna eteei n au m n eeseleet ve ,enth ntree le tteneit e 11,

, sur a ie neti ns- ,It is a oeie ttee pha e e neleethe pre en of n rtiee e f ennetlendeemefd e b 'o speeie w intere 5 r, s a Pa ti u a ebieet e Lth l i nt aee rnnli hth s reen etina h e me bet ee eee eend eet q spee 91 e .teude e t a par icu a ,ierm tien 1 v s ac n th .seure an de e tene s an e 'o theerele .of.. esetnan the ee nent qn h tieunet en- I S Qe Hebieet provide a compromise s pacin aged onthe' forese ne consideration "Lsyhieh M e abl sat ia ysdi erent at e zbet eenlande l eeti ne via .i rmeti ns iinteree ,Qthe :ebieetswand. va t/amvasehe ef...1tl e present 3 invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered with the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a neutron logging operation; t

Figure 2 is anenlarged vertical of the subsurface instrument; and

Figures 3a to 3e illustrate the eifect of varying the spacing of the neutron source from the detector on the useful detected gammaxradiation which has been produced indifferent kinds of formations. I 1

Referring to the drawings' in detail, particularly Figure 1, there is illustrated a well surveying operation in which a fragment of the surface ID of the earth is shown in vertical section. A well ll penetrates the earths surface and may or may not be cased. Disposed within the well is the subsurface instrument l2 of the well logging system which addition-ally comprisesa cable l3 for suspending the instrument in the well, a drum M from which cable is paid out'or on which 'cable'is wound when causing'the capsule 12 to traverse the well, electrical connections from slip-rings'on the axle of the, drum [4 to an amplifier [5, which in turn elfctric'ally'connected to a recorder I6 in a, conventional manner. Recorder 16 is driven'through a transmission H by the drum [4 as thecable is paid out from or wound thereon. The record thus made by the recorder" as the capsule l'2'1traverse the drill hole will be'in correlation 'with depth.

As shown in Figure 2,'the'capsule l2 comprises a neutron source'l8 forming the bottom portion thereof and a gamma-radiation detecting system indicated generally as. l9 which makes upthe upper portion of the capsule; The gamma-radiasectional view a predetermined large quantity of neutrons per second, for example 5X10 per second, spaced relatively close to the detector to favor the detection of a maximum intensity of gamma radiation which is produced in the formations by neutron processes therein. The spacing is critical and, from the point of view of useful gamma radiation produced by neutron reactions in the strata, varies with the type of source used, or more accurately, with the neutron flux and the average range of the neutrons in the formations adjacent'the'well. This is illustrated in Figures tion detecting equipment! can be ,such'as that disclosedin the Scherbatskoy' 'et' a1. P'atent'No. 2,349,225 or such as that shown in the Schematsko'y Patent No. 2,390,965. For purposes'ofdescribing this invention an' ionization. chamber, 20

is shown as theradiation sensitivefelement; iAs' disclosed'in the Fearon Patent No; 2,308,361, the

operation of a, system' of this'fch'aracter when producing a neutronlog is that'th'e 'capsulel2, made up era source of neutronsiS and gamma radiation detection IsystemY'IQ," is"cause'd to traverse a well!" Neutrons emitted from; the

source enter thelw'alls of the well and by nuclear reaction with matter contained 'in'the walls, produce gamma radiation in' amounts proportional to the lithological characteristics of the'inate rials of which'the' walls are formed. These r i gamma radiations produced by nuclear reactions in the strata are detected by the'gamina-r'adiation detector 20 by producing electrical signals that are related in magnitude to the intensity of the gamma radiation detected, and these 'signals are amplified by an amplifier 2! and trans mitted over conductors contained in' thei cable 13 to the surface of the earth, where if necessary, they are further amplified by the amplifier iii and recorded by the recorder IS in correlation with a proper neutron source while practisin that form of thepresent invention'in which a neutronlog ismade directly.' p we have found thatthe desired effect, "that produced by gamma'r'adiation which HaSfbIigi: nated with neutron reactions in the formations,

can be augmented by using a sourcewh'ich' emits 3a to 3e. V In Figure 3a there is shown a group of curves which have been plotted with spacing of source from detector as abscissa and intensity of gamma rays reaching the detector as a result of neutron processes occurring in the formations as ordinates. The dotted curve represents the intensity of gamma radiation reaching the detector and which has been produced in pure dry coal, such asanthracite. The solid curve represents the intensity'of gamma radiation reaching the detector and which has 'been produced by neutron reactions in limestone, and the dash-dot curve represents the intensity of gamma radiation reaching the detector and which has been produced in wet'shale. The range ofneutrons in each of the formations represented by the curves is measured from the vertical axis to the right along the horizontal axis and'identified by RI, R2 and R3. It is to be understood that these ranges as shown on the curves are not intended to be absolute values but relative values which will serve equally well 'for purposes of explanation. By comparing the ranges R1, R2 and R3 with the magnitude of thegamma ray intensity curve at the respective ranges, it can' be seen that the maximum intensity of gamma radiation, which originates in the strata, reaching the detector can be detcted'when the distance between the n'eutronsource and detector is less than, butof the order of this range. Now consider a detector located at zero of 'the coordinate system and a source spaced a distance SI from the detector. Practically allthe gamma radiation detected which has 1 arisen from neutron reactions in the formationsflwill bethose'originating with neutron reactionsjin the 'pure dry coal. The intensity of this detected gamma radiation may bemeasured'as the vertical distance between the horizontal axis and the dotted curve. Next consider the condition where the detector is located at zero and the neutron source is located at the point S2 on the horizontal axis of the coordinate system. Under vthis condition the magnitude of the intensity of gamma radiation reaching the detector from the coal has more than doubled and the intensity of gamma radiation which has originated in the limestone can also be detected, Making the spacing still shorter by movingthe neutron source to the point $3 on the coordinate system, it will be seen that gamma radiation originating in three formations cancnow be detected, gamma radiation from the dry coal, the limestone and from a wet 'shale. When the neutronsource isimovedifr'om S2 to S3 theintensity of gamma radiation from limestone"v will be the largest and that from dry coal next largest, while the intensity' of gamma'radiatio'n from'the lwet shale Willjbe' very small. Next consider zerospacing. that is, where the neutron source is located in the center of the effective portion of the detector; It is appreciated that such a condition could not easily be attained; due to the 'unattenuated gamma radiation given ereformatibnsas result" of--'-heutron reactions withi Undenthese' conditions the intensit y bf- "ct'd gamma radiation whi'cli h'as originated the thegammaradiation originatingin the wetshale I will be quite large and will be the most promitween the 'deteetor'nnd'" neutronsource is "less than but of the order of the range of neutrons in that formation. An important point to be noted is that the three curves representing different geological formations cross as the spacin decreases from a large spacing to a relatively small or zero spacing. This teaches that if one desires to have the characteristics of dry coal predominate in the log, then the detector-source spacing must not be less than zero to XI as measured along the horizontal axis of Figure 3a. If it is desired to emphasize the characteristics of limestone, then a spacing would be used which would lie between the intersection of the solid curve with the dotted curve and the intersection of the solid curve and the dashed curve between XI and X2. If it is desired to emphasize in the log the characteristics of wet shale, then the spacing between source and detector should lie between the intersection of the solid curve and the dashed curve and zero between X2 and. 0. Figures 3b, 3c, 3d and 3e serve to illustrate by fragments of logs the manner in which the recorder would be effected when traversing wet shale, limestone and dry coal formations in succession with particular detector-source spacings. Figure 3b shows the manner in which the recorder would respond to the intensity of gamma radiation detected with a source-detector spacing of zero to SI. The magnitude of displacement of the recorder pen is measured from the base line Il--9'. The recorder, as indicated, would show a single trace offset from the base line an amount proportional to the intensity of that gamma radiation produced in the dry coal and which has reached the detector. Figure 30, made by the use of a detector-source spacing corresponding to ilS2, shows a first displacement from the base line 3-4) that is caused by the gamma radiation which has originated in wet shale. This offset is followed by a second offset corresponding to detected gamma radiation which originated in the limestone. This offset is, in turn, followed by a third offset which represents the detected gamma radiation which originated in the dry coal. Figure 311 represents the recorder response when these same three formations are traversed in the same order by a detector having a source spaced from it by a distance equal to BS3. It is to be noted that the wet shale causes an offset in the recorder trace followed by a large offset due to the gamma radiation which originated in the limestone. This last offset is followed by one which is in the opposite direction, showing that the intensity of the gamma radiation reach ing the detector and which has originated in the drwcoal has fallen 'ofii Imotl-iermords themritlcalw sp'abing has been passed for recording char-ac... teristics-of: cal and now the emphasis'zis'rstronglw om tlie garrim' raidiatibn whichfiha's Eoriginated'iim/ c: the nniestoner' Under th'e 'conditidns 'w hereetl'ie in turn, would be followed by that for coal detectr 9am source would coincide -"or '=be r spac'ed a zere distaneeapatstn recorder response would be aS shoWh m; tlii figure thegamma 'h ofigin'a D shale would atej tliat i's, Idbfiddil6 the reat the-recorder en- 1mm the base' offset would =be 3 tions have been' use'd for purpose of illustration? 1 it is to be understood that the particular formations that are expected to be encountered in a well are to be taken into consideration when adjusting the spacing between the neutron source and detector. From the picture presented above, it is clear that the closest spacing used need never be less than that point at which the last crossing occurs between the curve for materials of the type ordinarily encountered. and that material in which the neutron range is apt to be shortest.

We have found that, in addition to providing a method and apparatus whereby different types of strata can be differentiated, by careful selection of source-detector spacin, we can differentiate between very small percentages of hydrogen content, hence the fluid content, of the formations that are otherwise the same.

In logging oil wells, the type of information which is generally of greatest interest is the variation of fluid content or other property in a given limestone or sandstone.

Again referring to Figure 3a, for purposes of explanation let the dashed curve be assumed to represent a limestone having 5% fluid content; the solid curve be assumed to represent the limestone having 10% fluid content, and the dashdot curve represent a limestone having 20% fluid content.

In order that the neutron log respond clearly and definitely to small changes in the fluid content which it is desired to observe it is necessary to so choose the spacing between source and detector that no crossing occurs between the curves of the type of Figure 30!. for any of the included varieties of the given limestone or sandstone which are to be differentiated. Best results will be obtained by choosing that spacing which maximizes the rate of change of detected radiation with variation in the property which is to be observed. Such a spacing is appreciably shorter than that at which the first crossing occurs or appreciably longer than that at which the last crossing occurs among the curves of the type shown in Figure 30!, for any of the included varieties of the given type of strata.

For example, if it is desired to differentiate, on the log, fluid content in limestone ranging between 5% and 20%, a spacing lying between 0 and X2 but somewhat less than X2, or a spacing lying between XI and S2 but appreciably greater than XI should be chosen. It will be seen that if a spacing lying between XI and X2 is chosen, an ambiguity results from the fact that curves corresponding with two different fluid contents in the range from 5% to 20% could be drawn whicliiwould cross at the spacing chosen. Therefore the gamma v ray intensities caused by neutrons for rocks having these particular fluid contents would be equal, and these rocks, though different, would be representedas being the same.

It can be noted from Figure 3a that for a spacing such as S3 the curve for 5% fluid content'of the formations lies between the curves for 20% and 10% and therewith leads to the inconsistency in which the gamma ray intensities are in the following order: The 10% fluid content provides the highest value, and both the 5% less and 20% least fluid contents provide lower intensities of gamma radiation.

We c a A method of making a neutron log of the formations penetrated by a well that comprises determining from known knowledge of the types of formations penetrated by the well a spacing that is of the order of but less than the average 8 range of neutrons in the types of formations penetrated by the well, spacing the neutron source from the gamma ray detector a distance that is of the order of this average range, and making a neutron log of any suificiently similar well while maintaining but less than this spaced relationship between the neutron source and detector.

ROBERT E. FEARON. JEAN M. THAYER. GILBERT SWIFT.

REFERENCE S CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Russell May 10, 1949 Number Certificate of Correction July 18, 1950 Patent No. 2,515,501

ROBERT E. FEARON ET AL. tified that error appears in the printed specification of the above It is hereby cer lring correction as follows:

numbered patent requ Column 3, line 31, for the Word traverse s acin read spacmg; colurnn 7,l'1ne 9, for line 6, after maintaining strlke out but less than an in line 4, same column; and that the said Letters Patent should be read as correcte the Patent Oflice.

may conform to the record of the case 1n his 5th day of December, A. D. 1950.

read traverses; column 6, line 34, for

therewith read therefore; column 8, d lnsert the same before this d above, so that the same Signed and'sealed t THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Batents. 

